Desolate
by BornOneWing
Summary: Post KHII. The worlds are restored but the paths connecting them can still be re-broken through. Something weird happens when King Mickey visits and Kairi starts to turn scary. Will anyone believe Riku about the voice that comes to him in his dreams? Or will his best friend even reject him. Riku/Sora. Slow build.
1. Chapter 1

_****_This fic contains the pairing Sora x Riku. It has spoilers for KH1 and KH2 as well as some Chain of Memories. I hope you enjoy reading it!

_**Desolate: The Prelude**  
_

* * *

_I guess I never really thought that we'd be able to go back to our life, our world and just be able to pick up from where we left off. Everything was restored and everyone remembered us alright, but it could never be the same. In a way, I didn't want it to be. Wait, no. I'm glad that the events that happened from the moment Destiny Islands was destroyed until the time Sora and I came back through the door to the light. If not, where would we be anyway? I would probably have been the same stubborn, selfish bastard that I had been. Am I being too harsh on myself? Sora would probably say so. Of course, I did spend over a year trying to make it up to my two best friends. If I hadn't helped Diz, I would've never allowed myself to go with Sora to the light. I very nearly didn't go. _

_ I guess in a way I owe myself this, if not only for Kairi and Sora who have an attachment to me. Like I was saying, though. It's weird to go back to somewhere you grew up, after leaving not by choice, and then having grown up along the way. Who was I to judge, anyway? I was the one who wanted to leave. Just me. I'm not stupid; I heard Kairi talking to Sora when the sun was setting back before anything happened. It still hurt to think that as gentle and pure as Kairi seemed, she would leave me behind, even if I was on the wrong side. In that way, she and Sora are so different. With Sora it's always been in the moment action, with your loyalties and morals to back him up. Funny how it works, that the one with no darkness in her heart is the one I end up being hurt by. _

* * *

Sunlight bounced all around the fresh green leaves of the island trees. It was rather hot in the direct sun, but in the shade was the perfect temperature to just hang around. Birds flew high in a melted-ice sky as they caterwauled their ocean song. The pulsing slosh of water was a beat like the heart, pushing life into the veins of a tropical world. Across the waves, you could barely make out an island dotted with identical houses because of the low-slung angle the lesser island sat on. How ironic was it to find the same teenager with silvery hair who used to perch on the broad trunk of a paopu tree, once again reclining above the ledge of the land? A flicker of something in his eyes belied the fact that he was, in fact, deep within his own mind and memories. That might've been why, when a feathered white hand tapped his left shoulder, he fell off the tree trunk and into the water.

Upon surfacing, he heard the sound of a duck cackling and the gwaffs of….a dog? Or what? Who cares. Spitting out a stream of water and glaring up at the two other-worlders, the silver-haired teen spit a stream of water from his mouth, making them laugh harder.

"Riku," Goofy called, "Good ta' see ya'."

"Yeah," agreed Donald, "But Sora and the King said to hurry. We can say 'hi' later!"

"Well gee, Donald. At least let Riku get out of the water."

"Don't be silly," Donald countered. "But I wanna talk to Sora."

"Gee, thanks," Riku stated, sarcastically. He was already on the beach and trying to shake water off his hair and clothes. Donald and Goofy jumped off the wooden bridge connecting the miniscule island to join Riku. With an Aero spell from Donald to dry his clothes, Donald and Goofy were rowing their boat alongside Riku, who was feeling a bit foolish in his undersized watercraft.

The awkward atmosphere between the three was just growing until they finally made their way to town hall, where Sora, Kairi and the King were chatting amiably. Donald immediately ran over and hugged Sora, while Goofy scratched the back of his head and grinned widely, seeing that Sora was already straining under the weight of a duck.

"Aw, c'mon Donald. It hasn't been that long," Sora humbly stated in an attempt for the hugging to recede a bit.

"We still miss ya', Sora," Goofy added. "You're our best pal. No offence, your highness."

"None taken, Goofy," the mouse stated, "Sora has been through a lot with you two."

Kairi and Riku looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment, before making eye contact and silently agreeing that it was an ok thing to talk about out loud for now. They were all standing by the fountain outside of the great grey marble that made up town hall. The cobbled road clicked in a certain way when people walked on it.

The group of keybladers decided to go inside town hall and sit in one of the meeting rooms to have dinner. Kairi's father set it up for them, especially because of King Micky and how he's the only one to have ever visited Destiny Islands from an outside world besides Kairi, who wasn't really visiting. It was already about 5:00 P.M., despite how sunny it still was. The sun set fast on days like these.

Once everyone had settled around the far end of a long wooden table, the real business started. Mickey was seated at the head chair while Riku and Sora shared a side. Kairi had situated herself on the far side of Donald and Goofy with the mindset of getting to know them a little better. Dinner was still being made, so everyone was just sitting.

"King Mickey," Sora started, sensing the silence was about to get awkward, "What brings you back here so soon? I though you would've wanted to stay at the castle for quite a bit after that two year 'vacation'."

Mickey laughed a little, but nodded and answered, "Oh, Sora. You're so right. It's just that, I can't help but feel like we left things…open-ended."

"What do you mean by that?" Asked Kairi and everyone turned their heads back to Mickey to see what he'd say.

"Riku-" He began, but Riku cut him off.

"Look, your majesty, if it's about me, I can just say right now that I'm good."

Mickey frowned. Sora seemed a bit understanding, but Kairi, Donald and Goofy were a little puzzled. In that moment, the doors on the opposite side of the room opened and the group was brought some dinner. The receiving of the meal and getting into it took about five minutes of dropping the subject.

"So, Kairi. I know we don't really know each other that well, but I can't help but wonder what it was like while your heart was hiding in Sora's body," Mickey broke the silence in a polite way, as if easing himself into talking to Kairi. Kairi was blushing a bit at the part about her heart hiding in Sora's body. Riku snorted.

"O-oh. Well…I don't really remember. I wish I could describe it better, but it was sort of like I could hear moments of what Sora's heart was calling out. At the same time, I could feel another heart very close to ours that was in pain." She paused for a bit and stared off into space, "Maybe it was just my imagination."

Kairi felt a comfortingly heavy weight on her shoulder. Goofy was looking at her with sympathetic eyes. She smiled back at him with her delicately pretty smile that made her plush cheeks raise in an endearing way.

"Ansem the Wise always told me that all hearts are connected. Though, he did mention some having a stronger connection than others. There was a legend passed through many worlds that said eating a star-shaped fruit entwined hearts' destinies forever. It was legend, but perhaps by eating that fruit, the hearts of those people were making the connection permanently." Mickey was thoughtfully sharing this, not noticing everyone wince a bit when he first said 'Ansem'.

"Hey!," Sora responded and bounced in his seat a little, "That's the paopu fruit! It grows here, on Destiny Islands. Since it's so 'legendry' and everything, we can go take you to see one tomorrow if you want. Riku and I used to have competitions on who would get to eat one with Kairi. Too bad I never won any of them. Of course, Riku has always been better at things like that than me."

Kairi looked flattered and somewhat surprised. While she knew there was something motivating the two to compete against each other, she never actually knew what it was. Donald was looking very thoughtful.

"I know," he suddenly stated, "I'll bring one home to Daisy and maybe she'll forgive me for being gone for two years!"

"Haha, Donald. It's not like you betrayed her and everyone in the castle, now did you? In that case, I would never forgive you," Mickey joked. Sora nodded and Goofy covered his mouth with his hand in silent laughter as Donald shouted in protest.

Suddenly four heads whipped towards the other end of the room as they heard a loud, sudden sound that send vibrations through the room. Riku's chair was empty and thrown a bit to the side. Everyone stared at it for a good minute. Suddenly, Sora laughed nervously.

"It's okay, guys. I'm sure he's just grumpy from being with a bunch of happy people for a long period of time. I'll be right back after I-"

"Sora," Sora had stood up and now Mickey did too, grabbing the edge of his shirt. "Let me talk to him." Sora looked like he wanted to object, but the mouse shook his head and left the room more ceremoniously than his comrade had previously.

"What was that about?" Kairi whispered to Donald and Goofy, all three of which were still sitting at the table watching events unfold. Sora wasn't facing them. Goofy and Donald looked at each other then shrugged. Just then the grandfather clock in the room went off, chiming the fact that it was indeed 9:00 P.M.

"Hey, Kai," Sora said, turning around and grinning, "I'll walk you home, kay? Sorry we couldn't talk more, Donald, Goofy, but I promise we'll meet again tomorrow before you guys leave."

Kairi and Sora walked side by side into the fading sunlight in the direction of their homes. Truthfully, Sora's house was the far one, but he still liked to call it 'walking Kairi home'.

Donald and Goofy found their rooms in the motel adjacent to the town hall and went to sleep. Meanwhile, at the orange-crested beach sat a silver-haired boy on the sand and his mouse friend next to him. The waves lapped at their bare feet.

"The only person who has ever blamed you, Riku, is you."

"I know that."

"You knew that from the very moment we were locked inside of Kingdom Hearts." There was a silence between the two. The wind whistled by, flipping annoying pieces of hair into Riku's face. "What would make you accept yourself again?"

"…I don't think I can answer that. I don't understand my feelings right now."

* * *

_I really don't. At times, I feel like my life couldn't get any better. But, whenever someone brings up betrayal, pain and the darkness, I can't help but feel like I should be punished for what I did again. _

_I guess I never really was punished, per se. Helping a friend isn't punishment. Even if you hadn't wanted the friend to find out it was you. It's just that, even before that I would've done anything for Kairi and Sora. It feels like my debt is yet to be repaid. The problem is, debt doesn't matter to either of my best friends when it's me. _

_Perhaps that is why I am so conflicted. I can't help but be reminded of how I feel when I used to do things for Sora secretly without him knowing. The protective feeling, as if I have the power over evil. Sora believes that my heart is the light kind. But can I wholly trust that opinion?_

* * *

_AN: Oops, i replaced this chapter and forgot to take note of the original author's note. oh well! hopefully its improved. Please review? I hope you find it interesting._


	2. Chapter 2

**Desolate:** Winding Up

* * *

It was the ever-present sound of waves and cool, clean morning air that everyone woke to find. A hint of salt among the persistent wind was evidence of the adjacent body of water that is the ocean. Now, where does this installment start…..?

* * *

The pale grey bark of the tree was rough beneath Sora's calloused hands. This wasn't the first time he'd ever clung to the broad trunk of a paopu tree. This particular tree had three decently sized ripened fruits hanging in a cluster. Sora wrapped his legs as far as they would go around the circumference and shimmied up inch-by-inch.

After about five minutes, he paused his progress to pant a bit and catch his breath. There was a twinge in his neck. It had been rather stiff the last few days for unknown reasons. He ignored it and looked up at the treetop, trying to spot his goal. The orange sun partially blinded him and he shielded his eyes with his left hand, forgetting that it was bracing him on a small branch.

Suddenly, his body felt like a led block being forced down to Earth by a super-gravity. _Chk-Chk-Chk, _spoke the bark as it scraped against Sora's bare calves.

Riku was swimming. Well, actually he was looking for something that he'd dropped into the waves that morning when he went out for a swim. Not that he _got_ to swim because of what he was looking for.

Kairi had handed it to him the night that they had returned from the darkness and had a bonfire on the beach. It was cradled in her soft palm and despite how ridiculous it looked; he'd taken a liking to it. But, seriously… Riku's hair and face drawn so crappily on a seashell strung to four others and tied in the shape of a star.

It looked exactly like the one she had made two years ago for Sora. Hah. Sora is so weird. That kid actually keeps _his _Wayfinder strapped to his belt loop. Riku's hand swiped at something other than seawater and brought it above the surface.

The odd caricature of his own face looked back at him. He smiled and turned to walk back to his house in order to change in to dry clothing. As he made his way up the beach, he turned to walk past a group of beach trees when he heard a shout and felt a whoosh of air. Bracing himself for the impact with his arms above his head and crouched down, he was surprised when it never came.

Riku unfolded his arms and looked up to see a body suspended in the air, paused. It was as if time had stopped.

"Move, Riku!"

Riku stood and leapt backwards. King Mickey advanced on them from about ten meters away, carrying his mouse staff. Suddenly, the scream that Riku had heard earlier continued and Sora landed with a thud on the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Mickey and Riku ran over to him to see if he was okay. Riku grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Sora stood slowly and straightened out, wincing at the sand-filled scrapes on his legs. Mickey offered a potion, but Sora declined. He knew how expensive those could be and it wasn't like he had just fought a heartless or something.

"What were you doing up there anyway, Sora? You know that you're no good at tree climbing," Riku teased.

"I was getting some paopu's for King Mickey," Sora replied as if it were and exciting task for him, "And hey! I'm not _that _bad at tree climbing. Just because I am not as long as you doesn't mean…"

Sora went on rambling, but one could hardly hear it over Riku and the King's laughing.

"Come on Sora, you don't have to risk your life for me. I could've figured out a way to get them without you struggling," King Mickey reasoned.

"How?" Sora questioned.

"Like this," said Kairi, appearing at Sora's shoulder, having run from her house trying to find where her two friends were. She didn't stop there. She climbed the tree in ten seconds flat and gathered the three nuisances in a basket she'd brought. She then proceeded to lower herself by grabbing the base of a long leaf and sliding her hands and body down it until she was about three feet from the sand. She dropped, hardly out of breath.

Surprisingly, Kairi had been fairly modest in her climbing despite the fact that she was wearing a dress. However, Sora's face did turn a little bit crimson when she was lowering herself with the leaf. The wind had caught and billowed the pink fabric. Riku stood with his arms crossed, looking neutral despite the impressive display of agility.

"Kairi, you're the best!" Cried Sora, receiving the basket from Kairi's hands and looking inside. He had fulfilled his promise to the King.

* * *

"So this is where you parked the Gummi Ship," Kairi exclaimed, eyeing the colorful Highwind. Donald and Goofy walked out of the ship, making their way down the ramp.

"Sora!" Donald shouted, running ahead. There was a sudden gleam in his eyes when he spotted the paopu's.

"Oh no you don't Donald," Sora scolded and Goofy held onto the duck's sleeve.

"Wuh, I must get one for Daisy!"

Kairi, Micky, Goofy and Sora broke out in laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny," said a voice in a commanding tone, yet still teasing.

"Riku! Where did you disappear to, anyway? I said to meet in the valley half-an-hour ago!" Sora whined, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

* * *

Two hours earlier, before the event at the beach. A boy with silvery hair lay in bed, without blankets and dressed only in pajama pants. He was tossing his head back and forth over the sweat-soaked pillow. His brow had beads of the stuff as well. Riku's eyebrows kept tensing and his lips were parting and silently mumbling his dream. Suddenly, his eyes flew open to reveal bright aquamarine irises.

* * *

_ I was dreaming. I mean, obviously I was. It was night, I was asleep in bed and the sun was eerily rising in the west, casting a sick imitation of daytime. How do I know this about the sun, you ask. I've seen the sun rise countless of times on Destiny Islands. _

_ Anyway, I was asleep in bed, yet experiencing a different reality. I mean, how could it be this one? You'll see what I mean. I was in the World that Never Was. More specifically, inside the topmost chamber I the castle, not counting the roof. I guess you could say that it was a memory. _

_Sora addressed me as Xehanort's heartless and I shrugged him off. At that time, I still felt unready to reveal my help. I was turning to leave when things paused. Kairi was stuck, opening her mouth to call to me not to go. Sora was staring, glassy-eyed. It was clear what had happened. Paused time. But, how…?_

_ "Riku." A male voice spoke out from the dark portal I had summoned earlier. The barest purpley outline of a person appeared. Male or female, I could not tell. However, I supposed that the voice was male and perhaps the owner the very same. "Don't. Please, follow my advice. Don't turn into a heartless! Please! You will soon be—"_

_ But I could no longer hear the voice. There was a static sound like a television makes when the reception is bad and suddenly my dream was renewed. However, if you think it was the same, then you are so wrong. Sora's face was rotting and bloody. The decay was obvious from the maggots pouring out of his mouth. He was leaning as he stood and tried to mouth something through the shiny white bodies of the rot-slugs, slick with blood. I watched in horror, realizing that he was mouthing my name over and over again. "Ri-ku. Ri-ku."_

_ I suddenly had the realization that something else was making noise. I hadn't processed it until now because of my shocked state and the fact that it was so high-pitched. Laughter. It poured out in consecutive screams of "Eh-heh-heh-hehehheh!" _

_Behind the horror of what had become of my best friend's body was a flash of the beautiful auburn that is Kairi's hair. Her pretty head was thrown back and her lips peeled open to let all the sound escape. _

_I was so scared. So scared. I scream in the dream and woke as if I'd been electrocuted. I had to run to the bathroom to pour cold water on my face. That's why I went to the beach with intentions of having a relaxing swim. I could still see the image of Kairi. Beautiful, sweet Kairi and her maniacal display. _

_ After that, when Sora fell out of the tree and Kairi got the paopu's, I went straight home to write this letter. Thing is, I hope no one ever has to read it, but I was just so disturbed by it. The dream, I mean. Maybe if I go insane, people will be able to read this and piece together why._

* * *

The valley was a popular hang out for the kids on the island that are younger than Selphie. It is essentially the side of the island that no one lives on because of its steepness. Though in the spring, it is covered with wildflowers and thick green grasses. The Gummi Ship was parked near the bottom of the slope in a spot where the ground is made of dirt. The breeze from the ocean drifted over because the ocean was about two hundred yards down. A lot of seagulls had made the Highwind into a spot to sit. They were making quite a racket.

"Well?"

"I-," Riku looked at Sora and away a few times, "Geezus, Sora. I'm here now so what does it matter where I was?"

"C'mon, Riku," Kairi teased, "Don't be like that."

"I went home to change clothes like I was going to do before Sora almost fell on me," Riku partially lied.

He had changed clothes before he wrote the letter. That got him thinking. Who was the mysterious person who stopped his dream? Why did he give him that warning? There wasn't any darkness in his heart at the moment, despite its nature…

Sora pouted. Riku was staring blankly at space _again. _Ugh! There was a tug at Sora's sleeve and he saw that it was King Mickey. Sora turned to face him.

"Sora, I believe that it is time to say 'Seeya later!' I don't much like the sound of 'Goodbye.'"

"Seeya later you guys," Goofy stated.

"Yeah! Be sure to visit us next time, Sora," Donald chimed in.

Kairi giggled, "It was a rather short visit, no?"

Minutes later, the Highwind was starting its engines and gently hovering in circles above the ground. The three keyblade wielders had moved about a thousand yards away for safety purposes. Despite that, they were whipped with the wind created by the huge dual engines made of yellow and blue gummi blocks.

Kairi was pushing her skirt down with one hand and waving with the other. Sora could hardly reach high enough with his wave and he stood on his tiptoes. Riku stood relaxed, but wave slightly above his shoulder.

Passingly, Riku glanced at Sora. Sora's eyes shone with affection and reflected the rich yellow beams of the afternoon sun. Sora's eyes are the color of a pure sapphire. Some might say that Kairi has similar eyes, but hers are brighter and clearer. Sora's are deep and reflect how loyal and true he is.

"Hey, Riku," Kairi said, looking meaningfully at him, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, Kairi, but…" Riku trailed off, glancing over at Sora, who stood to Kairi's back, looking awkward.

"It's okay, guys," Sora's face changed in one second from blank to grinning, "I was going to go into town to buy a jug of milk for my mom anyway."

He turned and started up the path of dirt that was carved into the side of the valley.

The two friends watched for a minute as the third disappeared beyond a curve of the hill. Another two minutes elapsed while they just stood and admired the scenery. The salty air, the melty blue sky and the unyielding glow of the wild grasses in the sunlight.

"Well, Kairi? It isn't like you to be so silent."

Silenced continued. Kairi's auburn fringe hid her eyes. Her mouth was set straight. Riku frowned hard. Was she okay? This set worry deep in his gut.

"Kai— "

"DON'T!" She screamed suddenly and spun around to face Riku. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "Don't you dare do it, Riku. Stop this! I won't let you!"

"What? What did I do?" Riku was so surprised and angry about the accusation that he didn't think to whip out the Way to the Dawn or call for help somehow. Something clearly wasn't right. The next thing that gentle, boisterous Kairi said after that sent so much shock to Riku that he fell to his knees and started trembling, eyes wide and throat dry. Kairi walked briskly away, in the least graceful way that Riku had ever seen Kairi move.

_I should've taken action and told someone then. But I didn't. And it caused something terrible to happen._

* * *

A/N: IN NO WAY IS THIS HATRED AGAINST KAIRI. I like Kairi. I'm a fan of her. It's part of the plot, don't worry. This wasn't heavily edited, just a basic run-through. If something is terribly off, I will go through again and try to find it. Please review? I'm hungry…or at least my muse is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Desolate: **Blurring Realities

* * *

_I thought about that all night. I didn't dare find Sora that evening, like I usually would have. Sora and I often sleep in the same locations. Sometimes we are too tired to go to one of our houses and we just pass out on the beach. _

_Usually, though, he just comes to my house. My four brothers aren't home very often. You see, I live without my parents. They're still _alive _and everything. They just disowned all of us because Sephiroth owns an underground club on the mainland. Harsh, huh? The mainland is also an island, despite its name. It's only called that because it is the only island with an actual city. Our smaller islands are about 800 miles away from the mainland, so I hardly ever see Sephiroth or my other two older brothers. They all work at the club and I'm left here to do all the house chores. Ugh. _

_ Anyway, I was vacuuming and didn't realize that I'd been doing it for about an hour. Mind you, our house isn't big; I just got entirely lost in my thoughts about the dream and then the Kairi incident. _

_ Why? That same word kept repeating in my head in many different ways. Did it ever really happen? I questioned my own sanity for a brief moment when the door bell rang, nearly giving me a heart attack__._

* * *

Brrr-ing! Brrr-ing! The doorbell made an unusual sound. Pounding footsteps followed and the door was thrown open.

"Ri-ku!" A fist met Riku's muscled bicep.

"Hey there." Riku seemed happy to see Sora, but kind of shifty.

"Eh? What is it? Stomachache?"

"Wha-no!"

"Then what?"

"My period."

"Not funny, Riku!" Sora whined, punching his arm again.

"Ow, would you stop that?"

"Not unless you can catch me!" Sora punched Riku one last hard one on his shoulder, and then took off down the street.

_If you continue to talk to Sora, I'll kill you!_

Riku hesitated as Kairi's echo went through his head, but then instinct took over and he was darting across the pavement like bat out of hell.

"No fair," Riku yelled as Sora laughed mischievously, " you surprised me while I was busy!"

"Too bad," Sora stuck his tongue out, but he was a lot slower than Riku and less accurate in his jumping.

Eventually, Riku caught up to him so Sora collapsed across the grass of one of the side yards between houses and the road into town. Riku leaned with his hands on his knees, panting just like Sora was after their sprint.

Riku looked up from the spot that he was staring at on the ground. He had been following a line of ants going across the curb with his eyes. Surprisingly, the first thing he saw when he looked up was Sora's eyes. It was immediately obvious that had been what he was looking at because there was only one other thing in the world that shared the same color. A freshly cut sapphire was the only comparison. About three seconds of the starting passed before Riku broke the silence.

"What?" He asked, teasingly.

"I-I…" Sora sputtered, "Well, nothing."

"No, you looked like you were gonna say something. What?"

Sora looked pouty for a second and crossed his arms in mock defiance. "Sorry, Riku. _You _said that you're 'not a total sap like me'. I'll just save it for Kairi."

"Hey!" Riku exclaimed defensively, "Just 'cuz I said that I'm not a total sap like you doesn't mean that you have to stop being one. That would just be strange…"

Sora laughed, offering his hand to Riku, which the silver-haired teen grabbed and hoisted Sora off the ground. Sora wiped the back of his shorts unnecessarily. They were his precious clothes from his friends in another world, after all. Sora stopped brushing imaginary dirt and smiled at Riku before turning to look at the horizon.

"What I was going to say doesn't really apply to Kairi. Not to say that she doesn't belong or isn't previous, because I could not imagine life without her," Sora paused, closing his eyes and sighing.

`Riku felt a little funny, hearing Sora say something so deep about Kairi. He knew that the two of them held something special in which he could not intervene. It kind of was disturbing because it reminded him of Kairi's harsh words on that day that Riku mentally un-acknowledges. He doesn't want to admit to himself how scared it makes him.

"…But," Sora continued, opening his eyes, "Even though I know that you can take care of yourself—at least more than Kairi can—for two years you worried me sick. And there isn't anyone else that I'd rather have as a best friend either!"

Riku stared. His own words thrown back at him seemed kind of silly because even tough the older boy had meant them, the words had been a way to reassure Sora of their mutual friendship. Still, this was real. It felt real and not like some tv soap opera. Even though Riku knew it to be true before Sora said it, the words still filled his heart with light and pushed out some of the dark jealousy Riku had about others befriending Sora.

Not knowing how exactly to respond to Sora's declaration, Riku turned to his left, facing the town and took a few steps down the sidewalk. His feet tapped with a dull sounding thud.

"Hey. Race ya' to Kairi's place!" The both of them took off, Sora complaining this time about Riku's head start.

* * *

The black soles of Kairi's shoes tapped the top of a concrete stair. The fountain in the center of the square bubbled and tinkled, sounding like pieces of life gently colliding with Earth.

Kairi smiled softly, thinking of how she, Sora and Riku had planned to spend the day surfing. None of them were very good at it, except maybe Riku. Though, ironically it was never Riku who planned to go surfing. All three of them always wore their swim suits under their clothing so Kairi was sure Riku wouldn't mind her and Sora planning this without him.

Kairi was forced out of her memories when she heard Sora's playful voice and Riku's soft teasing tone. Not soon after, Riku rounded the corner of one of the side streets, coming to a stop in front of the town hall where Kairi sat on the stairs.

* * *

"Hey, Kai," Riku said, glancing at his pretty friend. Perhaps because her heart was pure light, Riku could not help but feel extremely happy whenever he saw her.

When it came down to it, Kairi was always in the middle of Sora and Riku. She could always translate Sora's behavior to Riku if he was confused and somehow she could also read Riku's emotions.

Like the ocean, sloshing towards the shore that is Riku, but at the same time being pulled towards the sky that is Sora. Riku honestly felt like he never wanted that notion to leave. That is why, when Kairi didn't say anything in response to Riku's greeting, his stomach felt like a handful of spiders were trying to escape from the inside.

Sora was catching up to where they were when Kairi stood and looked down at the ground. Her mouth turned into a line and her hand reached for her pocket. Riku seemed to be frozen to his spot on the cobbled street. It was almost as if his legs were stopped in time compared to how fast the red-headed sweetheart seemed to move.

A glint of silver left her pocket, intimately pressing against her thumb. The dull slate color contrasted with her peach skin. Suddenly, it was gone. As if time was lagging again, it took almost ten seconds for Riku to see the red and another ten seconds to feel the fold sting of the gash in his bloodied arm.

The ground 'plinked' as red drops of ruby fell to the ground and made rippled circles against the pale stones. Riku didn't remember falling to his knees. But he did remember Sora flinging his arm around Kairi's shoulders and looking at her in a comforting way, before turning to glare at Riku. The dark fire in his eyes was the last thing Riku of thought of before everything went black.

* * *

_The portal to darkness opened again. The one I that I had heard the mysterious voice come out of in my last dream. Dread filled me. My last dream wasn't exactly a good one. This time, I was on my favorite broad-trunked paopu tree on the play island. The sky was dark and rainy. I was vaguely reminded of the night I left to the darkness two years ago. I shivered, not wanting thoughts of guilt and pain to fill me. _

_ "Riku…" The voice seemed hesitant._

_ "I'm here. But…just who are you, anyway? Trust me, I'm _not _going to hurt my friends again by becoming a heartless. My darkness is—"_

_ "Bigger than it has ever been before!" My aquamarine eyes widened. " 'The stronger the light, the bigger one's shadow becomes.' Do not forget this, Riku. Especially not—"_

_ His voice was cut off. The portal began to close and I tried calling out to him, asking who he is. No response. _

_ I felt an involuntary twitch in my hand. It happened again, but I didn't see my hand move .That must mean my physical body was waking. In the distance, I heard a familiar voice._

_ "Ri-ku!Ri-ku!"_

_ My stomach lurched and I felt myself shoot in to the waking world. The voice came from Sora's lips in the same exact way the rotting, zombie-Sora from my last dream had spoken. _

* * *

Riku's head collided quite painfully with Sora's as he sat up abruptly from Kairi's bed. He had been in Kairi's rorom many times before and even slept over, so this was no surprise to Riku. The two friends' skulls retracted from each other and they both grabbed their heads in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow! Geez, Riku. At this rate I'll have no brain cells left!" Sora exclaimed, referring to when he fell from the paopu tree earlier and just now, when they cracked their skulls together.

Reminded of the incident, the silver-haired boy looked down to Sora's legs. Scabs remained from the bark scraping them. Sora grunted and shifted his weight uncomfortably under Riku's stare. Riku looked up and Sora started speaking.

"Riku, that was no way to treat Kairi! _You _ran into _her! _We're not racing next time if you're gonna blow up in Kairi's face when you run into her!"

Riku stared. His palms got sweaty and he trembled a bit, bringing his fingers to his right arm. He jolted when he felt nothing. Sora stared and so did Kairi, who was standing awkwardly near her window at the end of the bed. She looked a bit…scared? Certainly not of Riku…right?

"You fell on the concrete stairs and got scraped a bit. I am glad that at least you made Kairi land on top of you. She didn't get scraped at all," Sora answered Riku's confused expression.

The silver-haired boy looked at his arm, only to see a scratch that barely even breached the surface of his skin. It was about two inches long, not six. Also, it was white from the scraped up flakes of skin.

Riku got up off of the bed and walked towards the window. He didn't remember. Not at all. He had yelled at Kairi? He had knocked her down?

Aquamarine eyes peered out the window to the steps that led into the town hall. No blood. No red. And no gash on his arm from a box cutting knife.

"I-," Riku started, "I fainted from a scratch?"

"Did you not hear what I said?" Sora demanded, holding out his arms to try and catch Riku's gaze. "Don't get mad at Kairi again! Got it?" Sora searched Riku's eyes, which had now turned to face him.

"S-Sora," Riku said in a daze, "I am gonna go to the mainland today. Gonna visit my brothers, okay?"

"But Riku," Kairi cut in, "Sora and I made plants to go surfing today…"

"I'm sorry to ditch on you guys…" Riku said, gesticulating casually with one hand. It seemed too normal. "…But Loz called this morning and said that Kadaj was driving him crazy. Sephiroth said that I had to come or he was going to go mad. Lord knows what happens when my oldest brother 'goes mad'."

Sora and Kairi chuckled nervously just thinking about it. It wasn't exactly an easy battle for Sora the last time Sephiroth got angry.

"Aww, that's too bad Riku," Kairi responded.

"Yeah," Sora nodded, "You had better say 'hi' to them for the first time since we have gotten back, anyway."

Riku nodded, completely numb. Sora and Kairi walked him out of town hall. Just as he was about to get on his skateboard to go to the dock, he grabbed Sora's shoulder. Riku's hands were big and completely covered his friend's shoulder blade. Leaning down, he whispered, "I really need to talk to you. Can you meet me at the secret place at sunset? It's best Kairi doesn't know, right Sora?"

Sora nodded and grinned as Riku took off down the street on a blue skateboard. Inside, Sora was extremely worried.

* * *

**A/N: **If anyone totally hates Sephiroth, Loz and Kadaj in the story, I'll change it. Since I don't have many reviewers, I can cater to anyone's wishes who wants to review!

I realize this is kind of dark. If you don't like it, don't worry. It'll get normal again soon.

Review!? I love you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Desolate: **Small Tensions Relieved

* * *

A young boy walked down the street, his spikey brown hair bouncing with each step that he took. His usual expression was absent: his lips were pulled down into a frown and his eyes followed his yellow shoes. Just as he was about to mount the stairs to re-enter the marble building, someone shouted at him.

"Sora!" Kairi called. "Don't you want to go to the beach?"

"B-but Riku—"

"Who cares? It's not as if it's unusual for him to visit his brothers. Especially when Sephiroth requests. I'm sure he won't mind," Kairi responded.

"Alright," Sora said, unsurely. He turned and returned to Kairi, who had her hand outstretched. He grabbed it. Kairi had a thing for holding Sora and Riku's hands. It didn't mean something specifically; it was just another one of her quirks.

They were running. Sora had forgotten how quick and agile Kairi was. He thought for a second, remembering how Kairi had leapt from the ledge in the Castle That Never Was in order to protect him. For some reason a girl protecting Sora never bothered him. Perhaps he really was just a sap, like Riku said. Then again, Kairi wasn't the typical girl. She never dreamt of romantic girly things, like Selphie, and she wasn't afraid to get wet or dirty. She still had her girly moments, though they were rare. The Wayfinder charms were a good example of that.

In a way, it only made sense that Sora and Kairi were best friends. They balanced each other perfectly. Not to say that Riku was a third wheel. Quite contrarily, the three were a triangle.

Just as Sora was about to remember the time he closer his eyes and saw the Riku underneath his Xehanort's Heartless body, they stopped running. The keyblade weilder noticed that Kairi's hand had slipped out of his own. She was pulling her hood off and unzipping her dress. Oh, right. They were going swimming. They hadn't brought any surfboards so that wasn't an option. Sora started to remove his clothes as well when Kairi got impatient.

"C'mon, So-ra!" She was wearing a lilac-colored strapless one-piece bathing suit. Sora shed his socks and stood. Kairi quickly ran the fifty yards to the shore. The two friends were soon splashing in the water. Other children were on the beach too. It was another sunny day, so there was no surprise there.

"Aww, now I wish we had brought our surf boards," Kairi sighed, watching older teens farther out in the ocean as they surfed.

"We can always body surf," Sora suggested, excitedly. Kairi shaded her eyes with her left hand, glancing out beyond at the waves. Sora sensed a change in the atmosphere and Kairi suddenly wasn't smiling anymore.

"Do you think that Riku really got a call from Loz?" She asked, mutely.

Sora frowned briefly. He remembered the way Riku's eyes looked blacker, like an emerald, as he spoke about his brothers. Also, his head was tilted diagonally left, slightly. A cold feeling was in Sora's belly.

"Riku's okay, Kairi. You can call Sephiroth himself when we get back if you're still worried."

Sora almost considered just telling her about all of his suspicions and his _own _worries. When Kairi's eyes shone like that, with the love of her two best friends, Sora just couldn't unload his burden on her. He vowed to himself that he would demand to know what was going on with Riku when he met him that night at the Secret Place.

Kairi's face quickly molded back to a cheerful expression and she smiled, nodding.

"No, you're right Sora. I'm just imagining things after all."

He didn't feel guilty, lying to her like that. The mean thing to do would be to tell her and run the risk of a false alarm.

* * *

The two sat on the beach as the evening melted away. The days were long and both Kairi and Sora were hungry for dinner. They made a firepit. Sora gathered thet sticks and Kairi ran home to grab some meat, fruit and a lighter.

"Sora, you pineapple-hog!" Kairi teased as Sora ate the last piece of grilled pineapple.

"Hey," Sora said, sheepishly, "Don't look at me! You are most of the peaches." The two teens sat back and started laughing at each other. It would have gone on for quite a while, but they were too full for such an activity. Laughter stopped and a comfortable silence descended. Kairi exuded a sigh.

"I should be getting home now. Daddy gave me a curfew to not go out after dark, ever since I left the island _twice _without telling anyone," Kairi stated, disappointedly but not lacking a bit of sass. She stood. The two had dried by the fire and redressed.

"Want me to walk you home?" Sora asked.

"Nah," Kairi said honestly, "My house is really close. I have to get home soon, anyway, and no offense, but we go a lot slower together."

Sora laughed sheepishly and stood as well. He was kind of relieved because sunset was approaching fast and he had to row all the way to the play island to meet with Riku. The two friends parted with waves and hugs. Pretty soon, Sora was walking towards the docks at a brisk pace across the sand.

It was on the border between daytime and sunset and the light had a bluish tinge. The water was still warm when Sora stuck his hand below the surface from his safe spot in the tiny wooden boat. He started rowing. Sora's arms weren't particularly muscled, but after a while of keyblade wielding, he was left with a certain muscle endurance. He wasn't even tired when he tied his boat to the smaller dock and climbed out.

The air smelled really good in late summer evenings for some reason. The wind brushed Sora's cheeks and he closed his eyes and tilted his head up towards the sky.

_It feels so good to be home, _he thought to himself.

Sora got lost in his own world for several minutes. There was a really strange sound that finally brought him out of his trance. It sounded vaguely like scraping of rocks and a loud bang, like a collision. It wasn't particularly alarming, but Sora figured that he should check it out. He was supposed to be meeting Riku, anyway.

Sora walked down the path to where branches, palms, and flowering bushes obscured a hole that leads to a cave. It was really dark near the entrance because it was in the shadows of the setting sun, but it was even darker inside.

Sora pushed the shrubbery aside, crouched down and then entered. Immediately the disconnected feeling overwhelmed him. It felt like all of his limbs and senses were cut off along with all of the light.

Used to this feeling, Sora kept walking down the tunnel. He mentally braced himself. He quelled his curiosity as to what the strange sound from before was, and replaced it with confidence. He was going to talk the truth out of Riku for sure!

"Riku…?" Sora called loudly, but hesitantly.

"Sora? Is that you? You scared the crap outta me! Could you help me out here?"

The pale moonlight and starlight slipped through slits that were in the roof of the cave. It illuminated the teenager pinned beneath once of the heavy rocks that previously belonged to the cave wall. Riku lay flat on his back, the rock covering him up to his abdomen. Sora's eyes went wide and he rushed over, kneeling and tugging from Riku's shoulders. When that made little progress, he tried pushing the rock over and off the teen's body. He wasn't strong enough to.

"You have a keyblade, dumbass!" Riku called, in pain and panicky. Sora retracted a bit at the insult, but summoned his Kingdom Key and got a determined look on his face. One powerful combo later and Riku was free. The once boulder lay in shards. Riku's leg bled and stained his jeans a dark red from his right calf.

"Heal! Here you go!" Flowers appeared above Sora's head and floated over to Riku, weaving the skin into a scab and sewing together the sinew below the surface.

He winced. "Thanks."

"What happened, anyway?" Sora asked, gesturing to the hole where the boulder used to stand.

Riku stood, gingerly lowering his weight onto his damaged leg.

"Ow…" He started to fall, but Sora caught him under his armpits. There was a moment when they just stood like that. They adjusted their positions to get more comfortable and so that Riku wasn't entirely smushing his small friend. Riku's bangs covered his face, making it unreadable. Not being able to stand the silence much longer, Sora reached up and flicked his friend's nose.

"Hey!" He protested, "You shouldn't hurt an injured man."

Sora laughed and startetd to back away. Riku nodded to say that he could stand again. The two stood, observing the cave drawings that generations before them had created.

"The boulder…" Riku started, "…I thought I saw something move near it and when I turned to look, I swear I saw…"

Several moments passed.

"…Well?" Sora crossed his arm.

"Nevermind," Riku said, shaking his head. "Anyway, I ended up attacking the boulder with Way to Dawn."

Sora snickered.

"It's not funny!"

Their laughted started and then quickly died off. Sora's face got determined.

"Alright, Riku! Why did you call me here?"

Riku sat on a smaller boulder sitting on the ground.

"Sora," he said, looking to the side, "I've been…well. Hallucinating, I think." Sora wrinkled his nose.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember yesterday when you fell out of that tree and nearly landed on me?"

"Heh. Yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

"It's 'kay. Well, weren't you wondering what I was doing there? And then later when I left?"

"I just kind of figured that you were out early to get some fresh morning air in order to clear your head. I know that you think about things a lot, though it doesn't show."

"Well, yeah, I was," Riku said, honestly, "but it wasn't because of what happened the night before at city hall. It was because of a dream I had."

"Oh." Sora said obliviously, "What was it about?" He sat back to back with Riku on the same rock.

"It was scary. I could hardly move. In the dream, you and Kairi were dead. But….alive. You were chanting my name, and Kairi, she…she was laughing. Like a maniac. I was so scared…you were rotting, dead. It was so gross. I….can't see you like that. I don't want you to…"

"It's okay, Riku. It was just a dream," Sora said, turning and putting a hand on his shoulder. He could sense the worry emitting from his friend's words.

"I know," Riku said, his voice confident again. "But there was a voice. It warned me that I'm still half dark…I know there is light, but…"

"Of course there is light. If you ever are facing the darkness again, Riku, just look for my light. I'll be there."

"He warned me not to turn into a heartless," Riku stated, bitterly.

Sora stood.

"Riku, are you seriously worried about that? You're not the thirteen-year-old power hungry Riku that I once knew. You'll always have my friendship, okay? And besides, we're home; there are no worlds that need saving and we can just be ourselves again."

Riku laughed lightly. "You're right Sora. But that's only part of what happened. You see, I don't know how to say this, but…"

"Go ahead and hit me with it, Riku," Sora grinned, "I'm all ears."

"Something's up with Kairi." Sora paused, his expression changing to the confused look he gets when contemplating.

The keyblade wielder's mind went into overdrive. What was Riku talking about? Something was up with _him _not Kairi. Sora was still sore about the thing with Riku raging at their red-haired friend. What would be up with Kairi, anyway? It's not like Sora had noticed and anything. He was just with her, after all.

Was Riku just saying this because he was mad at Kairi? Why would he be mad at her, though? So many different emotions were swirling through Sora's head. Confusion, anger, concern for both of his friends and frustration. It wasn't mean to be like this. Life was supposed to be stable again.

"I- I don't…what do you mean?"

Riku bit his lip.

"I know you, Sora. I mean enough to tell you anything, right?"

Sora got curious.

"Of course, Riku. Please, just tell me. Enough hazing and get to the point!"

The older teen sighed and began, "Well, of course, it started with the dream. But, again later when King Mickey was leaving on the Gummi Ship and you had to go because Kairi wanted to talk to me. We waited until you were gone and then the strangest thing happened. She looked furious. The, she told me to stay away from you. It was scary, Sora. It wasn't like her at all."

"Of course it wasn't because you made it up," Sora said, tonelessly. He looked to the left and bit his lower lip.

Riku's jaw dropped. Was he seriously surprised that Sora didn't believe him?

"Okay, Riku. How about you go home and get some rest? You're probably tired from traveling all the way to the mainland and back on such short notice. I'll see you tomorrow." Sora turned to leave the cave, but Riku grabbed his arm. His fingers gently closed around the soft flesh and it sent chills up Sora's spine.

"Ow, Riku, let go!" Sora shouted, fearful of his intense expression. Riku let his arm slip through his fingers, reluctantly. Sora left and the orange sun was swallowed by the sea.

* * *

**A/N: **I edited all of the chapters! I hope the paragraphs are now easier to read, and the wording is better. Now i have to find the notebook where I foolishly wrote the next chapters thinking that it wouldn't be years until i was ready to face the music again

I get that my story isn't really an easy read and that the plot and character development is slow, but do people not like it?

Can you please review? Desperate here. Even for a 'good job.'


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